Tyler and Heidi came to visit last weekend and we took Jade sledding for the first time with her cousins.
Throwing snowballs for the dog
Tamsyn and Haley
We watched Baby Einstein's "Baby Noah" over and over and afterwards all the kids wanted to make elephants out of Uncle Aaron's clay.
We've had a wonderful holiday season! We're so blessed to have family close, to live in a beautiful home, and to know the true meaning of Christmas.
We've gotten over a foot of snow in the last couple of days. Here are some pictures of our yard.
Jade got a Christmas dress from my mother in law that she looked just beautiful in.
For Christmas Eve we had had dinner with my brother-in-law's family and our kids acted out the nativity as Lohn read from Luke. Jade was the angel :)
Trying to get the kids to eat something besides cheddar cheese.
Playing dinosaurs....she needs some baby girl cousins to come play.
Giving baby Jesus "kisses"
Christmas morning...
Her favorite gift by far was her new binkies. She's pretty easy to please.
Opening her first baby doll with her new binky in her mouth.
From my last few posts it would appear that I never change my daughter out of her pjs, so while this video doesn't catch her doing anything besides looking cute, I wanted to prove that I do in fact brush her hair sometimes.
Also, I wanted to post a video from a while ago when we had our CDT reunion. This is just about the most ghetto thing I've ever done, but since I didn't have a copy of it myself, I recorded it with my camera off of Monica's facebook account. Sorry! But I wanted to share it.
Here are the stockings I just finished making (In case you're wondering why I have 4, I made one for my mother in law too).
This is sweep, and he's not actually a new friend, but he's not usually in the house. So this is new for Jade. She loves him, and she can finally put her animal sounds to good use.
Jade thinks that she can talk and she often sounds like she's saying complete sentences in her own language. This was all I could catch. Give her a second.
She's my little modern dancer. She can really roll, she just needs to work on her head-tail connection.
Our ward Christmas party was this last weekend, and it was fabulous. I'm not usually all that impressed with church parties but this was really great. I was a little skeptical when I learned we had to dress in biblical attire, but its hard to feel silly when everyone is dressed that way. Our "Bethlehem" looked very authentic (as much as it can be in a gym). The pictures don't do it justice, but I'll post them anyway.
Entering the city
I was in charge of the booth above for the kids to make ornaments.
Singing Christmas carols
Our fair haired nativity
On Tuesday, I got to see my very best childhood friend Erin for the first time in 8 years. She is playing Amber Von Tussell in the national tour of "Hairspray", and they stopped in Pocatello of all places! Erin and I met in North Carolina doing the show "Annie" when I was 7. The last time I saw her was right after my high school graduation! It was so great to see her.
THEN...(Erin is on the left, I'm in the middle-We're doing the dance from three amigo's or something)
NOW...
A couple of funny side notes:
-I couldn't see the show very well because my eyes were blurry and I didn't know why. So today I switched my contacts to the other eyes and it turns out I had them in the wrong eyes that whole day. No wonder I couldn't see driving home.
-Erin introduced me to one of the guys in the show, and afterwards I told her he looked really familiar. She told me he was in the show "You're the one that I Want" last year to find the next Danny Zuko in Grease. I totally watched that show, even though it wasn't that great.
Aaron, Jade, and I went to the mall between dinner with Erin and me going to the show by myself (sad). Tickets were $60 though so we couldn't afford two of them. I learned that I can do things on my own and find my way around in a car in the dark (kind of). Here is Jade riding the very sanitary safari car at the mall.
I like being tagged for things, and I'm doing this for my sister, but I hate to put another post above the other one because I want to make sure people saw that Jade WALKED! And also, I still want to hear people's opinions on Twilight :) Ok here it goes...
8 TV shows I like to watch...
1. Eli Stone
2. The Office
3. Heroes
4. Private Practive
5. Boy Meets World
6. Friends
7. So You Think You Can Dance
8. Stupid shows about the lives of movie stars
8 Things that happened yesterday...
1. I went to church
2. Gave the sharing time lesson in primary
3. Had dinner with my brother and sister in law
4. Went to tithing settlement
5. Learned how to play "Bella's lullaby" on the piano!
6. Got Jade to bed without any crying (for either of us)
7. Snuck 2 mini cheese cakes from the kitchen (I guess our sugar bet is off)
8. Tried to get Jade to walk again...no luck
8 Favorite restaurants...
Sorry, I'm skipping this one because after living in Driggs and Rexburg for so long, going out to dinner just isn't as fun.
8 Things I'm looking forward to...
1. New Moon being made into a movie!
2. Thanksgiving dinner
3. Getting my Christmas shopping/wrapping done
4. Buying a house
5. My next CDT "reunion" next week (we're doing hip hop)
6. Being the rehearsal director for Dance Alliance next year
7. Getting to see my mom/dad/sister again (hopefully soon)
8. Having another baby (but not soon--this was not an announcement)
8 Things on my wishlist...
1. An ipod hookup for my car so I can get rid of my cds
2. To get to dance in the show my dad directs in Charleston
3. To live close to Daryn and Jon so our kids can play together
4. A car I don't have to get fixed every month
5. For Aaron to become a famous artist
6. Audition for SYTYCD and make it to Vegas
7. I honestly can't think of anything else...
8. ...I guess I'm pretty lucky :)
8 People I'm tagging...
I don't know if there are 8 people who consistently look at our blog or have time to do this tag, so I'm just going to tag everyone who sees this. haha. If you're bored someday you can do it.
So I dropped Jade off at my sister in law's house today at 11 am and took off with Aaron to see Twilight (which was awesome by the way!). I came back around 4:30--the movie was in Idaho Falls so it was a long trip--and I find out that Jade took 6 steps all by herself! So I spent the rest of the night trying to repeat this. I got one step out of her, which of course I was very proud of. But of all the luck. I'm home all day with her every day, and I finally go on a date with Aaron and she takes her first steps! haha. Anyway, I'm really happy and not bitter at all, honestly. And I love my sister in law for letting Aaron and I go out!
On a side note, Aaron was such a great Twilight date! He was one of about 5 guys in a jam packed theater and didn't comment once on how annoying all the giggly girls were. We both really enjoyed the movie. Not as much as the books of course, but I was very entertained and will most likely go read the books now for a third time. If anyone else has seen it (which I don't expect because it came out today) I would love to hear your opinion!
Okay, so they're more like sounds, but she's understanding what I'm saying! Its so much fun. She can say a few other things that I couldn't get on video, like "ni ni" for night night, and she says mama, dada, and baba but only when she wants to. She won't repeat them when I say it. She can do all of patty cake by herself and she waves when I say night night. I'm a pretty proud mama....just wanted to share :)
My friend Monica organized a little CDT (contemporary dance theatre) reunion today in Rexburg. We got together at Wendy Bone's studio where Wendy taught us a 2 hour long modern dance class. I am going to be bed ridden most likely for the next week because of it, but it just reminded me of how in love with dance I am! I've never had such amazing experiences with dance as I did while I was dancing with this company. Here are some pictures of those of us who are still living close by and could make it to the class. I love them all!
Top L-R: Monica, Wendy, Ariane, Joy, Bottom L-R: Sarah, Rachel, Kate, Me (over the years I think I danced with over 3o girls through this company)
Also, I just found our old CDT mission statement, and I wanted to share it. I don't think people really understand just how spiritual dance can be. Dance is a big part of my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here's why...
The Mission of the Contemporary Dance Theatre
But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love god, and serve him, is inspired of God --Moroni 7:15
As selected members of the BYU-Idaho Contemporary Dance Theatre we focus to glorify God through our love and passion for the art of dance. We understand the intense level of committment, dedication, and sacrifice that is required in order to obtain such a focus. Our primary responsibility and calling as members of this company is to stand as "witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places." (Mosiah 18:9)
By doing this we aspire to portray the light of Christ, becoming missionaries for this gospel. As such we desire to share our testimonies of what we believe to be true, of principles that have changed our lives, and of happiness that is exquisite. We accept this calling on an individual level and recognize that personal obligation to worthiness and constant self-improvement that accompanies such a privilege. We yearn to discover Heavenly Father's purpose and goals for us as a team and as individuals. A higher level of respect, cooperation, and unity is expected. Above all these things, there must be a constant expression of gratitude for the divine blessings we receive. It is our privilege, our responsibility, and our desire to share that which "inviteth and enticeth to do good, to love God, and to serve him." We seek to inspire.
We took Jade to our ward halloween party for her actual birthday (October 28th). She did the cake walk, fished for some candy, through a football through a hoop (or dropped it rather), and went through the spook alley, and she seemed entertained that everyone was dressed funny.
The next day we left for Jade's first trip to Michigan. We had a wonderful time and stayed busy the whole weekend. I was really happy to get to introduce Aaron and Jade to most of my old ballet friends at Liz Caliendo's wedding.
Whitney, Whitney, Mary Jo, Liz
Ballet moms
Rachael, Danielle, and Libby
It doesn't look like it, but she had a great time on the dance floor.
Jade's in the background getting ready for the bouquet toss. Or maybe she's watching the band.
Mom's backyard
The Calder in downtown Grand Rapids
In about 9 hours, Jade will be one year old! I can't believe it. We had a birthday party for her yesterday so that family could come, so I'm including those pictures plus some others. I am so lucky to have Jade in my life. She makes me smile and laugh every minute. If I had to choose one thing to be in my life, it would be a mother. Here are some of my favorite things about Jade, and I know the list will only grow every day...
-She squats and stands up over and over with no hands
-She looks at me and says "woah" with wide eyes every time she drops something or falls down
-She laughs so hard when we play peek-a-boo
-Her furrowed eyebrows when she's discouraged or tired
-She tucks her head into my neck as I rock her at night
-She blows bubbles in the bathtub
-She loves turning the pages when we read books
-When she 'dances' she holds both her hands in front of her and turns back and forth
-When I put my hand out and say "can I see" she always puts things in my hands
